And for IQ and Race, "The Bell Curve" by Jensen and Shockley which did not find any significant correlation between race and IQ.

Of course all scientists have agendas. When you look at any research there are important questions you have to ask about it. For a start the question you ask can get you the answer you want, depends how you phrase it. I would be very sceptical indeed about any research that makes claims about IQ and race, crime and race etc. There are too many variables floating around. If you look at it historically outrageous claims have been made on the most flimsy of evidence.

Again, crime stats can be biased. If a cop is constantly going after blacks because of prejudice, yeah, he's going to catch more blacks doing criminal things. That doesn't mean that whites aren't committing crimes, just that less are caught.

WHAT!!! I can't believe you wrote that This just shows that institutional racism is alive and well everywhere and dodgy research can be used to justify discrimination and prejudice ad nauseam. In the last century there were many studies that said women were less intelligent than men!

Why are you getting upset? No one is suggesting that black people should be treated any different. They are simply reporting on research. There are differences between white and black people. Black people are naturally superior athletes, so I'm not going to discount the possibility that there are other differences.

I'd say blueberryhill wasn't that far off with her "CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT" type remarks.

Well, I can't speak for BBH, but the first thing that went through my mind was exactly that! 'I can't believe he said that!' but, only from the point of view of the people who may be upset! I know Nigel isn't racist! Maybe BBH meant it as I would have, had I said it!......I don't know......maybe she'll tell us!

I did find that remark quite shocking, as a matter of fact. This idea was de-bunked when I was at uni many years ago. Time and again IQ tests have been shown to be highly biased towards a certain kind of intelligence and surprise, surprise white males do really well. Could this be because IQ tests are constructed and set by white males? Tennis-girl and Joe make valid points too. People are far too accepting of so-called facts and use them to prop up their own particular prejudices. But there again, the education system hardly encourages independent thought. Heaven forbid we should have a free thinking population that challenges perceived wisdom.Rant over

And for IQ and Race, "The Bell Curve" by Jensen and Shockley which did not find any significant correlation between race and IQ.

Of course all scientists have agendas. When you look at any research there are important questions you have to ask about it. For a start the question you ask can get you the answer you want, depends how you phrase it. I would be very sceptical indeed about any research that makes claims about IQ and race, crime and race etc. There are too many variables floating around. If you look at it historically outrageous claims have been made on the most flimsy of evidence.

This sort of attitude is a barrier to investigation. Why the outrage at the mere suggestion there may be some difference?

Are you offended when someone says that black people arre naturally more gifted athletes or is it only white guilt that gets you worked up when people discuss race?